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Monday, 26 November 2012

Two minutes with… Oxford United

Following our first round FA Cup
clash a couple of weeks ago, Oxford were the visitors again at Underhill last
Tuesday. Oxford fan, Myles, gives his views in this instalment of ‘Two minutes
with...’.

Pre-match

Had you been to Underhill before?

No. This was my first time. As
it's Barnet's last season at Underhill I was keen to make the visit, despite
the horrible weather! It's my closest game to where I now live so seemed daft
to miss despite a lack of enthusiasm on my part.

How did you get to the game?

A quick drive down the M1 from
Luton.

The match

Whereabouts in the ground did you sit/stand?

At the back of the East Terrace,
about mid-way down the side.

What did you make of the game?

Well, it wasn't exactly a
classic! That said, despite this clearly being two poor teams, both were trying
to play a bit of decent football – to greater or lesser effect, and not helped
by the constant rain. On the Barnet side, Clovis Kamdjo is clearly a limited
player, but his desire and determination meant that he largely ran the
midfield, constantly looking for the ball and trying to create something. This
was in marked contrast to Oxford's Peter Leven who has the talent to be one of
the best midfielders in this league but went missing in this game. In fact, it
was Leven standing off and failing to make a challenge which was the start of
the build up to Barnet's second goal.

The referee had a generally quiet
game and seemed to be cutting the players a little slack to account for the
greasy conditions. He did produce one complete howler though when giving a
free-kick for a back-pass to the Barnet keeper which actually came from a mishit
clearance 25 yards out which looped skywards and backwards into the six-yard
box.

Who (from either side) do you think deserved to be man
of the match?

As above, Clovis Kamdjo would be
my man of the match.

Post-match

Was the score line a fair reflection on the game?

Yes, a 2-2 draw was about fair.
If anything, Barnet probably just about deserved to take the three points, as
they had the better efforts to snatch a winner. To be honest, I wouldn't have
been unhappy as usual at such a defeat as it would almost certainly have seen
Chris Wilder getting the sack. I'm fairly sure that he is now a dead man
walking and, unless we go on a run of wins, the next defeat is likely to see a
change.

Who do you play next, and how do you think you’ll get
on?

We have Northampton at home next.
With Jonny Mullins being recalled from his loan by Rotherham, I'm concerned
that our back line won't be able to deal with Akinfenwa who can be a bit of a
human battering ram. Being at home, I hope we can get a draw but I wouldn't be
too surprised to see us lose this one.

Ratings

Cost of match day ticket

£16 for a terrace is about the
going rate these days. ––– 7/10

Purchases made at ground

Again, the programme was around
average for the league, but maybe a touch advert heavy. I always love spotting
the classic, local companies linking their product to the club however odd it
may appear – official Barnet FC coffin anyone?! ––– 7/10

View

Not a bad view from the back of
what was a fairly shallow terrace. You know you're at a traditional old ground
though when the view is partly obscured by large pillars! ––– 7/10

Quality of football

Two teams appearing low on
confidence and, to a lesser extent, skill and not helped by the weather
conditions. Not a classic, but it could have been a lot worse. ––– 5/10

Overall experience

As ever, the low point of a trip
to football is the football itself! My lack of enthusiasm for the game wasn't
misplaced, but the gallows humour on the terrace made it more bearable. –––
6/10